Arne Slot sensationally backed to beat Erik ten Hag to second manager job on top of Liverpool duties

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been backed to take a second managerial role at the expense of Erik ten Hag after a Dutch source delivered a scathing assessment of Ten Hag’s capabilities following his divisive Manchester United spell.

Slot has made a mockery of those that suggested replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield would be a near-impossible task. Liverpool have won 15 of Slot’s first 17 matches in charge and have built up a five-point advantage atop the Premier League table.

Over at Old Trafford, Man Utd are embarking on a new chapter with Ruben Amorim after the Portuguese replaced Ten Hag.

The former United boss did win two trophies during his spell in Manchester, though deficiencies in player development, player recruitment and exhibiting a clear and effective playing style were there for all to see.

Ten Hag is back on the open market and the 54-year-old was recently the subject of a conversation regarding the Dutch national team job.

Ronald Koeman is the current manager of the Netherlands and contracted to 2026, though when the time comes to hire a replacement, Ten Hag’s name was put to retired Dutch manager Aad de Mos.

De Mos – who counts Ajax and PSV Eindhoven among the clubs he’s managed – scoffed at the thought of Ten Hag becoming the coach of the Netherlands national team.

Instead, when speaking to soccernews.nl De Mos remarkably tipped Arne Slot to pull double duty and succeed Koeman while also retaining his role with Liverpool.

“Well, I don’t think so,” replied De Mos when asked if Ten Hag should be Koeman’s eventual successor. “I think that with Koeman we have a coach who is doing reasonably well.

“Ten Hag has not built up so much credit that he should now be considered for the national coachship.

“He has shown almost nothing at Manchester United. Ten Hag was able to buy players for six hundred million euros. He has made many wrong choices.

“You should never bring so many Dutch players and players from your old employer to your club. The Eredivisie is of course a different level than the Premier League. He has made himself vulnerable by only using this old network.”

De Mos added: “The football was not worth watching. He was fourteenth in the league and could not win against FC Twente in Europe.

“I think that in terms of national coach, you should rather end up with Arne Slot. Slot does not even have to be fired for that, but as a possible double function.”

Managers have occasionally held positions as manager of a club and a country at the same time in the past. Sir Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen and Scotland) is one such example.

Nonetheless, it would unquestionably be a major shock to see one man manage a club the calibre of Liverpool and a country with the expectations of the Netherlands.

Latest Liverpool news – Kelleher, Robinson, Kerkez

In other news, former goalkeeper Shay Given has urged Caoimhin Kelleher to leave Liverpool for the sake of his career.

Elsewhere, TBR Football claim Liverpool could use Kostas Tsimikas as a makeweight in an attempt to sign Antonee Robinson from Fulham in January.

However, Anfield Watch report Liverpool’s actual No 1 target in the left-back position is Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.

Per the report, the Reds have asked Bournemouth for permission to speak with Kerkez and his camp regarding personal terms.